The present invention is directed to an apparatus for dispensing a roll of sheet material in severable portions. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a free standing dispenser apparatus for inconspicuously storing a roll of sheet material to be dispensed in simple yet stable manner therefrom in severable portions. The apparatus provides for conveniently holding the roll of sheet material so that sheet portions may be severed as needed therefrom for use.
The present invention finds wide application in various applications, such as in the technical field of kitchen accessories. For example, the present invention finds wide and various application in the particular field of portable paper towel, tissue, or other such paper wipe roll dispensers (collectively referred to herein as paper towel dispensers). Many types of portable paper towel roll dispensers are known in the art. Many types make use of either a base with a vertical support to hold the paper towel roll in a vertical, standing position. Other types make use of fixed in place paper towel roll dispensers often utilize a mounting system on a wall or under a cabinet, with the roll held to extend in a generally horizontal orientation. Whether vertical or horizontal, most prior art paper towel roll dispensers fail to conceal very much of the paper towel roll, settling for unsightly open exposure of the same. The drawbacks of this go beyond mere aesthetics, as the paper towel roll thus remains exposed and vulnerable to wetness or soiling, when a user with wet or soiled hands makes contact with the paper towel roll. Undue contamination risks and general unsanitary conditions may be cultivated as a result.
Some portable paper towel roll dispensers are known which conceal the entire roll. But they are encumbered by many of the same drawbacks encumbering open types of paper towel roll dispensers, as they require excessive user handling in order to access and tear off only the needed portions of the rolled paper towel. In addition, such portable dispensers have been configured with material compositions and structures offering little if any adaptation to the wide variety of kitchen and dining room designs. They often employ complex mechanical components with moving parts which not only make for complicated and unstable operation but subject them to periodic breakdown. Many also employ a separate base member to which a cover is attached. The cover on such known portable dispensers tends to be easily dislodged or seated in unstable manner during use, and often precludes one-hand operation to tear off a sheet for use. These portable dispensers are therefore inconvenient to use, or suffer from such poor functionality as the roller unraveling out of control or failing to leave a subsequent sheet in a ready position to be easily grabbed and torn off.
Numerous stationary type paper towel roll dispensers are also known in the art which conceal the entire roll. But such dispensers tend to incorporate mechanical devices having moving parts. Mounted as they typically are to a wall or under a counter, they cannot be easily moved. They are also made with material and structural configurations whose functional aspects conspicuously clash with the design and décor typical of private residential settings.
There is, therefore, a need for an apparatus which provides inconspicuous storage of a paper towel or other roll of sheet material which overcomes the drawbacks of known roll dispensers and maintains convenient, stable dispensing of the sheet material portions in severable portions.